More shots fired in Bawku; Police intensify patrol

Renewed clashes between Kusasis and Manprusis at Sakabo in the Upper East Region town of Bawku have left one person with gunshot wounds.

The incident, which happened near the Bawku Hospital, created tension in the Bawku township Tuesday night.

An eyewitness told Joy News the police were quick to step in to forestall any loss of life.

The eyewitness said about ten heavily armed men believed to be Kusasis walked into a “predominantly Mamprusi area and started shooting indiscriminately."

“Any human being they see they shoot at him," he said; but added that there were no casualties.

The Security Council in Bawku, in the Upper East Region, met on Tuesday to look into a shooting incident in the town that left two dead and one in critical condition on Monday.

The victims, Alhassan Hadi and Tijani Issaka, were shot in their homes at Patelmeh after evening prayers.

Assemblyman for the area Imoro Mahamadu, who witnessed the incident said the victims "were sitting in front of their house when a group of people started moving towards them. By the time they realized they started firing...two died instantly."

Although there is little information about the perpetrators of Monday's murder, the attacks are believed to have been triggered by a long-standing chieftaincy dispute between the rival Mamprusis and Kusasis in the area.

Bawku Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Bukari Issaku, told Joy News a team of police and military personnel have intensified patrol in the area.

Although there are no arrests made yet, he said the Upper East Regional Security Council will be convening a meeting on Wednesday to decide the way forward.

The MCE suspects criminal elements within the township are scheming “to send Bawku back to its old days."

Insisting security forces are in control; he promised “people who are causing fear and panic will be brought to book.”

Bawku, one of the brisk commercial towns in the northern part of the country, has been a hotspot for series of ethnic clashes since 2000.